


stuck to you like glue(cose)

by byunbaekcute



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, collegeau reminiscent, love blossoms in the science lab, mingyu is scientifically challenged, wonwoo is less so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-19 03:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8187683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byunbaekcute/pseuds/byunbaekcute
Summary: Mingyu’s a struggling bio-chem major with exponentially falling grades and a penchant for disaster in the school laboratory. A heart that just won’t quit pining for his attractive, quiet seatmate doesn’t help things either.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Stuck to you like glue(cose)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12265359) by [findmeinthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/findmeinthestars/pseuds/findmeinthestars)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu is scientifically challenged, and Wonwoo thinks that he could be of some help.
> 
> Professor Chwe makes every day a living nightmare, Junhui and Minghao are just trying to be good friends.

“I’m fucked.”

 

Mingyu throws his head back into his pillows and flings his biology textbook across the room with as much strength he could muster. The textbook is flung a measly two feet forward before it bounces off the edge of his bed, and Mingyu watches in dismay as the book falls to the floor, pages crumpling under its weight with a less than satisfying _crunch_.

 

“Hey—” Junhui visibly perks up from his sprawled out position at the foot of Mingyu’s bed, and he reaches down to salvage whatever’s left of the textbook. He flips through it, thumbing the corner of a page as he reads with about as much enthusiasm a literature major could have for science. “Why not ask that Jeon Wonwoo boy-crush of yours for help? It’ll be a fantastic opportunity for you to _romance_ him.”

 

“First of all, you’re a sorry excuse for a roommate— go back to your own fucking bed. Second of all, I’m not romancing or crushing on _anybody,_ okay? I just appreciate a good face.”

 

“In times like this, I think your capacity for romance is equivalent to that of this plankton,” Junhui drawls, a finger tracing the outline of a cell of some sort. (At least, Mingyu figures it _could_ be a cell.)  

 

“So obsolete, so minuscule, so _insignificant_ —”

 

“Yo, even _I_ know that’s no plankton— hey!” It takes Mingyu longer than it should have to notice Junhui’s blatant middle finger product placement, and he snatches the textbook back with a dejected pout on his lips.

 

“Look, you can either grow a pair, get Wonwoo to tutor you and share some intense chemical bond, or miss your chance at the love of a lifetime and blatantly copy off his work like the useless being you are,” Junhui goes back to annotating his literature book, feet dangling dangerously close to Mingyu’s face. Mingyu leans back in disgust.

 

“I heard he’s a natural at science, and a big sweetheart. Professor Chwe assigned you to share tables with him during your practical exams, didn't he?”

 

“I can't do that to him— come on, _dude_ , please help me.”

 

Junhui gives Mingyu a look that has Mingyu feeling like he’s no better than the bubblegum stuck to the bottom of a person’s shoe— unwanted, yet still clingy as _fuck._ It makes him feel like shit. Something in Mingyu’s expression must have revealed his desperation more than he had wanted it to, because his roommate’s expression shifts and Junhui reaches for his phone on the bedside table.

 

“Go get ready, I'll call Minghao over to tutor you.”

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

Mingyu lets his finals approach with the skewed and definitely flawed attitude of _out of sight, out of mind_. As he counts the days left to his practical, however, Mingyu increasingly finds himself having the urge to drown himself in the vat of dilute hydrochloric acid nestled comfortably at the back of the science lab.

 

He hates the onslaught of practical lessons that Professor Chwe terrorises them with, and would much rather be back in the classroom, not-so-subtly staring at the pretty bio-chem major seated diagonally across from him. They have been classmates for a year now, yet Mingyu _still_ hasn’t been able to muster up the courage to speak to him.

 

Mingyu feels a hard tap on his shoulder and he _swings_ his body to the side in response, hot bubbling acid threatening to spill out of the test tube he has clamped tightly between a pair of wooden tongs. He looks back in time to see Minghao flinch, his lips pressed into a grim line.

 

“Spill that on me and I will beat you to the ground with this bunsen burner, man. Why is your solution _red?”_

 

Mingyu lifts his head to scan the classroom, and sure enough, nobody else in the lab has solution with colour a poor rendition of the artificially flavoured cherry pop Junhui always packs their shared fridge with. Minghao lets out a resigned sigh and walks away, and Mingyu is fairly certain he hears Minghao cursing him to every last circle of hell in Mandarin.

 

The next time someone taps him on the shoulder, Mingyu takes the extra precaution to set his test tube back down on the rack before turning. Mingyu’s heart stops and his brain short-circuits when he sees Jeon Wonwoo standing before him, wrapped up in his overly large white lab coat and safety goggles sitting low on his nose. He looks _adorable._

 

“Hey, um— I'm Wonwoo, I believe we’ll be sharing tables during the finals— ah, Minghao was saying something about how you needed my help?”

 

Mingyu finds himself standing so stiff he swears his neck should've snapped into two when he whips his head around to glare at Minghao from across the room. Minghao returns this with a toothy grin and two thumbs up, and Mingyu is left questioning his choice of friends.

 

“I, uh— I don't need any help.”

 

Wonwoo looks over to the test tube rack apprehensively, and Mingyu has to stop himself from grabbing the smaller student’s shoulders and violently shaking the living daylights out of him because fuck, _he's so cute._

 

“Your test tube is... purple. Our practical is in a week, if you need help, I can—”

 

Now, Mingyu _really_ wants to drown himself in that vat of hydrochloric acid. He fails to stop himself from spilling a lame excuse (one that drains Mingyu of every last ounce of dignity he has left).

 

“Oh, yeah, I was just experimenting. Purple is my favourite colour, so I wanted to— uh— _see it_.” Mingyu really needs to tape a piece of that filter paper stored high up in the shelves to his damn mouth, he thinks, because Wonwoo looks adequately taken aback by his answer.

 

Mingyu flashes Wonwoo a smile he _hopes_ is charming, the same smile that gets him out of trouble every time he gets caught with the beer the class monitor, Seungcheol, sneaks in, or when he goes running down the hallways of the dormitory dead drunk with Junhui. (He does receive a warning slip under his door from the resident adviser, Jisoo, though. It’s hard to take him seriously when he dots his ‘I’s with hearts and signs off with a smiley face.)

 

It takes Mingyu’s breath away, seeing Wonwoo up this close. He’s able to fully appreciate Wonwoo’s strong jawline, the sharp slope of his nose, and slanted, mono-lidded eyes. Mingyu finds himself feeling small under Wonwoo’s enigmatic gaze, but he sees something akin to a hint of amusement in his eyes. He can’t be sure, because Wonwoo has already left to return to his table with a gentle upturn of lips directed Mingyu’s way and a reassuring pat to his arm. Mingyu swears to himself that he's not in love.

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

Wonwoo, despite Mingyu’s protests, has taken it upon himself to become Mingyu’s temporary lab partner. It’s funny, how Mingyu’s heart tightens thinking about how Wonwoo could very well just be helping him out of some friendship debt to Minghao, instead of genuine interest. He finds himself enjoying Wonwoo’s amused exhales too much, when he chastises Mingyu for getting a question wrong, and when Mingyu inadvertently knocks another beaker off the edge of the table.

 

As to whether Wonwoo feels any inkling of regret or not, he certainly doesn't let it show, and Mingyu thinks that he deserves an award _and_ cash money for the earth-shattering feat.

 

“Mingyu, wait—”

 

Wonwoo barely manages to finish his sentence before he's flinching sharply as the test tube Mingyu was heating up bursts, shattering across the table. Hot solution lands on Mingyu's coat sleeve, and Wonwoo is quick to swat the boy’s arm away. A rubber stopper rolls over to Wonwoo’s side of the table, and to his horror, Wonwoo finds that someone has doodled the face of a _rubber duck_ across the top of it. A black sharpie pen lies uncapped beside Mingyu’s pencil case, leaving too little to imagination.

 

“Mingyu, I _told you_ it was an exothermic reaction! You were supposed to test for hydrogen, and you _can’t_ use a rubber stopper.”

 

Wonwoo watches as Mingyu shrugs his shoulders dismissively and reaches to pluck the rubber stopper out of his hands, a somewhat goofy smile on his face.

 

“Yeah, I was going to _collect_ the gas before I tes—” Mingyu’s smile falls as he turns to face Wonwoo, as though suddenly coming to a realisation, and Wonwoo is surprised at the sudden change in the taller student’s expression and tone.

 

“Where are your safety goggles?”

 

Wonwoo blinks, unsure of the conversation’s direction. “I lent them to Jeonghan. He lost his pair, and you know how he gets. He’ll be blind by the end of the lesson if I didn’t lend mine to him.”

 

Mingyu doesn’t respond, pulling off his safety goggles and gently slipping them over Wonwoo’s eyes instead. For a brief moment, Wonwoo forgets how to breathe. From the corner of his eyes, Wonwoo can see Minghao marvelling at them with a shit-eating grin of his, looking as though he’s having a _fucking_ whale of a time, and Wonwoo feels a strong urge to project distilled water from the wash bottle across the room. He firmly ignores how quickly his cheeks are heating up, how colour is definitely blooming up to the tip of his ears, and how Mingyu notices.

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

“Gravitational pull comes from the earth, Mingyu, and gravity sticks you to the floor. Why are we even talking about this? You’re not a physics major.”

 

“No, man, I think I’m very sick or something. That’s not how gravity works for me. Does everyone have different centres of gravity? Because, like— I gravitate towards _you_.”

 

Wonwoo tenses at Mingyu’s words. Was that a confession? He feels mildly sorry for the frog he’s dissecting, for if it were still alive it would certainly have died a terrible death from the stab Wonwoo has just taken at it. He sets his scalpel down and turns to face Mingyu, trying to detect the slightest hint of a lie, a joke, _anything._ He finds none, and instead discovers that he _likes_ that expression on Mingyu. At a loss for words, Wonwoo turns away from the taller student, deciding that the bloody corpse of an amphibian was infinitely more interesting and engaging than whatever nonsense Mingyu was spouting.

 

“No, really,” Mingyu continues (with Wonwoo not-so-subtly hanging onto every word) and says, “Does this mean that my gravity is pulling me sideways instead? Are _you_ my centre of gravity?”

 

Wonwoo decides that Mingyu is an idiot.

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

Mingyu manages to forget about his finals until the very day of his biology practical exam. He promptly has a meltdown in the morning, and is really only in school because Junhui has promised him that there really isn’t anything to worry about. Junhui sends him off with a kiss on the cheek and a pat on his butt, as well as a reminder that his table mate is there for him. He's feeling jittery and nervous, but Mingyu’s fairly certain that it’s entirely the fault of the caffeine bomb Junhui forced down his throat that morning.

 

_(“Stop it, Junhui, I'm not drinking that—”_

 

 _“No,_ you _stop it. This is_ my special _combination of Red Bull, coffee, cherry soda pop and undying love for you, so you better fucking drink it.”)_

 

Mingyu suits up in his laboratory wear and tugs at the tacky rubber gloves, marching into the laboratory without a single clue on microorganisms, photosynthesis, or the circle of life, or whatever the fuck biology could possibly be about. He's beginning to think that he would be better off spending his time inhaling the toxic fumes in the fume box when Wonwoo enters the lab, dressed again in his adorably oversized coat.

 

The latter’s face is obstructed by the blue surgical mask covering it from nose down, but the slanted crescents of his eyes betray a smile that Mingyu knows is there. Mingyu desperately wants to speak to him, but with Professor Chwe sitting cross-legged on the teacher’s table and a pair of binoculars in his hands (“So that I’ll be able to see _when_ your sorry asses start to cheat.”), he decides against it. Mingyu is almost sure Professor Chwe would be looking through overly zoomed-in lenses, but who’s he to say that Professor Chwe couldn’t very well learn how to work the binoculars over the span of two hours?

 

Professor Chwe’s call for silence sends Mingyu down a panicked, hysterical spiral, and he suddenly regrets not taking Minghao’s tutoring sessions seriously as he prepares the organisms for inspection under the microscope. Who could blame him though, when his tutor and roommate were the ones making googoo-eyes and kissy faces at each other for most of the tutoring sessions?

 

Mingyu struggles to fit the microscope slide onto the stage and curses himself for having fat fingers which never seem to listen. He grimaces as he spins the revolving turret of his microscope only to hear a sharp _snap_ , and he starts praying fervently that Professor Chwe’s hearing abilities are about the same as those of the microbes trapped within his petri dish.

 

Wonwoo’s hearing, however, is not. Mingyu can physically _feel_ Wonwoo’s gaze on him, and his cheeks burn with embarrassment as he accidentally snaps the sample of his specimen while trying to release it from the microscope.

 

 _Fuck, this is terrible_.

 

Mingyu tries, he really, _really_ tries not to let his eyes wander over to Wonwoo’s paper. Junhui’s words reverberate in the empty void of his mind.

 

_“He's an absolute sweetheart, really, he won't mind if you take a look at his paper.”_

 

Mingyu hates himself. He tries not to be obvious as he angles his head slightly to peek at Wonwoo’s paper, the silence in the lab strangely unnerving. He’s suddenly made conscious of his height, and with him being so reminiscent of a sore thumb sticking out of nowhere, Mingyu might as well stick a bright red target on his forehead and let Professor Chwe shoot him at point blank. _You got this, Kim Mingyu—_   _fuck, thousands of kids cheat in exams everyday, how bad must you be at life if you get cau—_

 

“Mingyu, fuck, stop that!”

 

Mingyu jumps at the harsh whisper, and lifts his head to make eye contact with his table mate as inconspicuously as he can— they're talking in the middle of their biology practical exam, darn it— and he finds Wonwoo looking at him as if he were the bacteria frolicking merrily on the slide under Wonwoo's microscope. He certainly _feels_ as insignificant as bacteria under Wonwoo’s unfathomable gaze, and Mingyu suddenly feels jealous of the fungi growing off the sides of the sink separating his side of the table from Wonwoo’s. _I'm better off as fungi, maybe then I won't be as big of a failure._

 

“Jesus, Wonwoo, you gave me a heart attack, I thought you were _Chwe_.”

 

“I can see you turning to look at me, you’ll get both of our results nullified,” Wonwoo hisses, quickly turning back to glare at his work. His hands are shaking, and Mingyu swears he hears the snap of pencil lead breaking as Wonwoo writes just a little too hard on his paper.

 

Mingyu sees Professor Chwe perking up from his meditative, semi-comatose state, and it sends him into a frenzy. To hell with the filter paper, Mingyu really needs this to work.

 

“I— _fuck_ — dude, if you love me, _please_ let me copy off of you. I have no idea what this fucking blob of amoeba I'm looking at is, and I think I busted my microscope.”

 

“Mingyu, I _barely_ know you.”

 

“Wanna let me copy anyway?”

 

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo closes his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Even in his white lab coat, rubber gloves and face mask, Mingyu finds himself staring at Wonwoo again because he's just _so_ pretty. Under normal, not-so-tenuous circumstances, Mingyu’d definitely spend most of his time admiring Wonwoo’s face, but _bless_ Professor Chwe for assigning them to the same lab table anyway, because _fuck_ , at least Mingyu got the chance to be next to his crush, even if it were for a stupid exam.

 

 _(“He’s my_ eye candy _, I don't_ do _crushes," Mingyu argues, ready to fire with a thousand reasons as to why he_ isn’t crushing on Jeon Wonwoo, _only to receive the flip of Junhui's middle finger in response.)_  

 

Mingyu’s heart nearly catches in his throat when Wonwoo turns to him, eyes sharp and expression contemplative, and further proceeds to do a double take when he sees Wonwoo slide his answer paper across the table.

 

“Not an amoeba, try _lactobacillus acidophilus_.”

 

Wonwoo’s hushed voice sends tingles down Mingyu’s spine, and Mingyu wants to slap himself for finding his voice alluring even when he's talking about _bacteria_ , for God’s sake. He doesn’t miss how the corners of Wonwoo’s lips quirk up in the faintest of ways, and instantaneously (finally) decides that fuck, Junhui was right, this _is_ a crush.

 

“Does this mean that you love me?”

 

“No, Mingyu, I _still_ don’t know you.”

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

Mingyu ends up passing the biology exam (plus his chemistry one)— granted, with plenty of help from Wonwoo, but still, he _passes_. Mingyu still sees the smaller student in class every other day, huddled in his oversized knitted sweaters with his customary messy hair, and napping his time away because finals were over and classes were no longer of any use. He gets a chance to talk to Wonwoo again the day before winter break, the boy staying behind in the lab to help pack away measuring tubes and pipettes and other funky instruments Mingyu could give less fucks about.

 

Mingyu approaches Wonwoo hesitantly, settling himself on the table island (in the middle of the lab where Professor Chwe demonstrates his eccentric experiments), and watches as Wonwoo returns the last cylinder to its place on the shelf.

 

"Shouldn’t you be off celebrating the start of winter break, Mingyu?" The deep timbre of Wonwoo’s voice never fails to catch Mingyu by surprise, and Mingyu is again stumbling over himself to find the right words to say.

 

"I— I wanted to say thank you, for you know— _that_ — " Mingyu cringes at how he sounds like he's speaking around a fucking potato, and he can already foresee Junhui giving him the finger when Mingyu updates him tonight. 

 

Wonwoo pauses briefly, nose scrunched up in the _cutest_ contemplative expression before walking over to Mingyu’s island. He rests his hands on the edge of the table and props himself up with his arms, looking at Mingyu from under his lashes, and Mingyu thinks Wonwoo couldn't look more _kissable_ even if he tried.

 

“Well, you looked like you were about to bomb that paper, and everyone knows how bad you are at biology—”

 

“I know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell," Mingyu interrupts, pointing a triumphant finger at Wonwoo. He pauses for a moment before booping the other student’s nose, and Mingyu relishes in the way Wonwoo immediately blinks, eyes widened and lips parted in surprise.

 

“That— That won’t get you anywhere, Mingyu,” Wonwoo replies after he manages to compose himself. There’s a lovely smile curling his lips, and Mingyu really hopes he’s not imagining the fondness in it.

 

“Fucking whatever—”

 

Wonwoo lets out a small exhale of laughter, lips lifting into a full smile and nose scrunching up ever so slightly. Mingyu watches as his slender shoulders shake with laughter, and finds himself smiling, because Wonwoo is gentle and Wonwoo is kind, and really, Mingyu is head over heels in love with him.

 

“You know, I could really use a tutor. Just a thought.”

 

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything in response, but Mingyu sees the tenderness in his eyes and that’s all the answer he needs.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that's it for my virgin debut fic (update: epilogue updated!)ヾ(｡´∀｀｡*) I wrote this originally as a prompt for the person I beta for, but it ended up becoming too long so I made it my oneshot
> 
> written based off of my poor knowledge and experience in science (I'm a _literature _student damn it)__
> 
> please do leave me some comments and tell me how you like it, that would be lovely ♡ not sure if I'm ever writing again (but anybody down for a sequel/epilogue?)
> 
> s/o to my beta chorusofthesong, I'm sorry I wrote the prompt I originally meant for you to write huhu
> 
> come chat with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/bbaekstillcute) @bbaekstillcute, I promise I'm friendly!


	2. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu is thoroughly convinced that Minghao and Junhui are playing mind games with him. 
> 
> Wonwoo discovers how much of an idiot Mingyu truly is, and how he doesn't mind.

“I still don’t understand though, why did you let me copy?” Mingyu looks up from his textbook, mind swimming from memorising different carbonyl compounds and enzyme-catalysed reactions. He circles a particularly ugly dot-and-cross diagram with his pencil and crosses it out.

 

Wonwoo shifts from his position tucked comfortably under Mingyu’s arm and reaches a hand up to pet Mingyu’s head, fingers interlaced with the soft, puffy strands of his hair. He leaves the chemistry book previously in his grasp to fall onto his lap instead, and Mingyu’s eyes flit over to it for a brief moment before resting on Wonwoo again.

 

The corner of Wonwoo’s lips are lifted in a fond smile that’s solely reserved for Mingyu, and Mingyu feels giddy and it’s kind of like soaring high above the clouds. He's beginning to think that this was all he ever needed, Wonwoo trapped tightly within his embrace and all of his gentle smiles, fleeting touches, and stolen glances. He’s lulled into a false sense of serenity until he hears a slam against the door. (Junhui had flung himself bodily against the door frame with a deranged cry. Fuck Mingyu and his terrible attempts at romancing, Junhui really _could use_ having his literature book back.)

 

 _“Yo, fuck, if y'all banging in there, I swear—”_ Junhui is most definitely yelling at the top of his lungs, but his shouts are muffled by the door, and Mingyu thanks the heavens that he remembered to lock it.

 

“The only thing that's banging right now is you, so go away before I call Minghao over for pest control. Wonwoo and I are trying to _study._ ”

 

 _“Just hand over my_ Romeo and Juliet _, you monster! For a science student, you're disgustingly uneducated about human reproduction.”_ Junhui’s muffled voice does a great job needling at Mingyu’s already thin concentration. _“I’m sure Wonwoo would love to give you a demonstration!”_

 

“We’re not even dating, you literature-loving piece of shit. Go read some _All My Sons_ over at Jisoo’s and get him to teach you about respecting privacy while you're at it.”

 

 _“That's_  my _room, and Jisoo majors in_ sociology _, you unknowledgeable fucker—”_

 

Mingyu's about to shout some offensive remark about how Junhui’s fixation with Shakespeare was not going to get him any further in life as compared to his own lack of knowledge of dicks, but the hand that gently rests against his jaw cuts him off. Mingyu unconsciously seeks the warmth of Wonwoo’s touch and leans closer, cursing when his cheek meets the soft material of Wonwoo’s sweater instead.  

 

“Stop pulling the sleeves of your sweater over your hands, Wonwoo, it’s adorable but they're getting in the wa—”

 

“I wanted to see you in class next semester.”

 

Wonwoo’s voice is so quiet that Mingyu almost misses it. Mingyu turns to find a Wonwoo that looks smaller and shyer than he’s used to, curled in on himself and shoulders hunched over the sides of his face, a faint dusting of pink across his cheeks. Mingyu’s heart skips a beat, thundering against his ribcage, and for a moment he fears that Junhui can _hear_ just how hard it's beating from the other side of the door. Scratch that, even Seungcheol who lives three floors down can probably hear him.

 

“Wh— What do you mean? Did you think I was gonna _fail_?”

 

Wonwoo gives Mingyu a look, one from which Mingyu deduces the question of _are you serious_ from, and he feels like he’s missing something here.

 

“Why would you want to see me in class? Minghao always tells me that the only interesting part of class is probably me— is that why? Is it because of that one time I set Chwe’s hair on fire? It was an accident, I swear, he was standing too close to my bunsen burner.”

 

He hears Wonwoo exhaling in a long sigh, sees how his shoulders visibly sag, and notices how his expression looks rather perplexed. Wonwoo hesitates for a brief moment— maybe he's feeling braver than usual today, or perhaps Mingyu is being bigger of an idiot today— but he pulls Mingyu in and seals their lips together in a kiss.

 

It's Mingyu’s turn to forget how to breathe.

 

﹍﹎﹍﹎﹍﹎

 

“Mingyu, get _off_ me.”

 

“Tell me what it means.”

 

“Mingyu—”

 

“Tell me!”

 

Minghao takes a swing at him, test tube rack in hand, and Mingyu ducks away with as much grace a lanky, overgrown teenager with uncontrollable limbs can manage. (He does slam his hip against the sharp edge of the bench though, and that sends him reeling over in pain.) Minghao stares incredulously at the bumbling fool groaning in agony before him, and tries to ignore the small voice in his head that's _begging_ him to lock Mingyu in the closet Professor Chwe stores all the bacteria samples in. Minghao squishes that thought and decides to indulge Mingyu, just this once, as he turns back to patting his copper sulfate crystals dry between two sheets of filter paper.

 

“He kissed you, you have been cuddling him for _weeks_  over winter break during your _tutoring sessions_ , Junhui told me you guys locked him out of his own room— What do you _think_  it means?”

 

Mingyu wonders if he might've hit his head instead, because Minghao’s vague response leaves his mind blank, futilely trying to figure out something, _anything_.

 

“He, uh— _gravitates_ towards me?”

 

Minghao wonders why he's friends with Mingyu and promptly decides that ignoring him would do his blood pressure and sanity good. Mingyu noticeably deflates at the lack of response, and quietly returns to his experiment, disheartened.

 

It doesn't take long for him to send a beaker of saturated copper sulfate solution flying across the lab. This time, Mingyu strangely feels like _crying_ as he watches Minghao sigh before expertly picking up the shards of broken glass. It's the first day back in the lab, damn it, why does Mingyu have to break everything he touches? And _of course_ , Wonwoo makes his way over with a blue wash cloth (which looked older than the lab itself) grasped firmly between his fingers. He gives Mingyu a smile that teeters way too close on the wavering line between platonic and affection before bending over to wipe spilled solution off the ground.

 

The sight of Wonwoo makes Mingyu’s throat feel like it's closing up the same way it did when he got stung by a bee the first time, before he found out he had an allergy to pollen, and Mingyu religiously wishes he could evaporate into thin air. The same way he never failed to evaporate every last drop of solution that stepped foot into his test tube. It drives Professor Chwe crazy.

 

(“I think I’d still be losing less solution even if you just _drank_ my supply of acid straight from the tap, Mingyu.”)

 

Wonwoo notices, _of course he does_ , and straightens his posture to look at Mingyu. The slant of his lips and the concern flooding his eyes is too much for Mingyu to take. His heart clenches at Wonwoo’s worried expression, and in his hazy, non-functioning mind, he decides that confidently marching out of the lab would be the best bet at escaping his feelings.

 

Mingyu does just that, and Wonwoo immediately drops the wash cloth in his hand to trail after him, cursing Mingyu’s longer legs to the high heavens and back. Wonwoo has to chase Mingyu down the corridor, with the taller of the two shooting his mouth off as usual.

 

_“No! Don't look at me!”_

 

_“Back off, Wonwoo, I said no!”_

 

_“I'll fight you, I swear to God— No means no!”_

 

Wonwoo has to physically grab onto the back of Mingyu’s collar and _peel_ him off the pillar he's so desperately clinging on to, and he also has to dig the soles of his shoes into the ground in order stop Mingyu from fleeing. This isn't the same Mingyu Wonwoo knows, the Mingyu who would jump at every opportunity to be closer to him.

 

“What's with you, Mingyu? You've been acting weird ever since I—” Wonwoo’s words trail off, and he weakly gestures at his own lips with a wave of his hand.

 

“That’s the _thing_ — I've been trying to figure out what it means, and _Minghao_ won't tell me! Neither will Junhui! It's driving me crazy.” Mingyu tugs roughly at his own hair and drags his hands down his cheeks, making a sound not unlike a beached whale.

 

Wonwoo is speechless— how could Mingyu be such a colossal idiot? And _why_ does Wonwoo find Mingyu attractive despite this?

 

“Mingyu, you _fucking idiot_.”

 

“That's a not nice thing to say to someone who's so lost and confused.” Mingyu sniffs, and by instinct, reaches out to grab at the sleeves of Wonwoo’s sweater for comfort. (Mingyu vaguely remembers owning one that's suspiciously similar, and the one Wonwoo’s wearing looks just a little too large to be his own.)

 

Wonwoo lets himself be pulled closer, and fails to hold back his laughter when he's brought to Mingyu’s chest, warm and _familiar_. Mingyu may be as clueless as a bean, but Wonwoo finds it endearing.

 

“Seriously, why does everyone speak in riddles? I just want to know—”

 

“I like you.”

 

Mingyu gapes openly at Wonwoo, and the subtle scrunch of his nose in response has Mingyu feeling the same heart-stopping excitement he had back in elementary school, during his brief two seconds soaring through the air after rocketing himself off the rickety swing next to the back gate. Mingyu had knocked both his front teeth out, but it was worth it. Right now, Mingyu’s heart is beating with the same frenzied rhythm as it did back then, but there’s something… more? There wasn’t this strange undercurrent of anticipation and longing lacing the pit of his stomach back then.

 

“Like— _like_ like? Are you saying that just to make me feel better? Not that it doesn't, but I don't want to get my hopes up or anything. Or did you mean to say that _you’re_ like me, as in, similar?”

 

It’s like a switch flips in Wonwoo’s mind, and Wonwoo realises that Mingyu finally _does_ have a point— the only way to speak to Mingyu would be to speak _like_ Mingyu.

 

“Yeah, whatever. What I meant was, that I’m—” Wonwoo tries not to cringe too much at himself. “You know about magnets, right Mingyu? That like and unlike poles attract? I'm _attracted_ to you.”

 

“So I'm your unlike pole? Or am I the like one?”

 

“Jesus, Mingyu, I— I gravitate towards you, okay? You're _my_ centre of gravity and yes, I let you copy off me and risk my grades because I _love_ you.”

 

Wonwoo looks so incredibly flustered and small and uncertain, that Mingyu thinks he's _finally_ doing something right when he leans in to kiss him. It's like the cards have fallen into place at last, as Wonwoo’s arms find their way around Mingyu’s neck, and Mingyu can't focus on anything other than the soft pressure of Wonwoo’s lips against his, and the faint taste of honey caramel on his tongue.

 

They only pull apart when they hear Professor Chwe’s screeching and his approaching footsteps as he rounds the corner brandishing a stirring rod, waving it around menacingly in the air. Wonwoo’s hair is mussed and his lips are kissed a deep red, he’s looking so breathless and so _ethereal_ , and Mingyu makes the split-second decision to grab his hand and make a fucking run for it.

 

Wonwoo’s laughter drowns out the murderous threats Professor Chwe hurls at them (the stirring rod was thrown in their general direction as well), and Mingyu could care less about all the possible punishments they could face. Wonwoo’s holding onto his fingers a little too hard, but Mingyu sees the childlike joy in his gaze and knows that whatever it was, Wonwoo didn’t mind the running away at all.

 

“So, what happens now?” Wonwoo breathes, voice higher than usual from the exertion and dark hair swept in a disarray across his forehead. Mingyu tugs him down a forgotten stairwell, backing Wonwoo up against the wall as he rests a hand upon his cheek. He can feel the tickle of Wonwoo’s warm breath against his lips.

 

“We could kiss. I mean, put that attraction to the test.”

 

Wonwoo laughs, voice a gentle breeze blessing Mingyu’s ears. His fingers catch lightly on Mingyu’s wrist, and his lips settle into the same subtle, knowing smile that had Mingyu falling in love with him in the first place.

 

“Sounds perfect to me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting myself to write an epilogue, but then again I wasn't expecting myself to write at all, so here it is, aaaaand my science lab!au has come to an end
> 
> I had lots of fun losing my writing virginity and creating this story, _I especially enjoyed the parts with professor chwe, I did him so dirty ___
> 
> I'd love to know what all of you think about my work, please do let me know in the comments!  
>     
> thank you for all the kind words, and thank you for reading! (◍•ᴗ•◍) ♡
> 
> hit me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/bbaekstillcute) @bbaekstillcute, let's chit chat yeee


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